Life isn’t always peachy for a devil. Powerful embodiment of evil though it is, there is often someone more powerful about and that’s what happened to this barbed devil, who had the misfortune to encounter, cross and get punished by that powerful someone. The magic used to punish the devil must have had a twisted side because it transformed him into an Iron Maiden, with all his barbs on the inside and only decorative ones outside.

Thus trapped, the devil vanished from history and from the thoughts of his vanquisher, who may well eventually have come up against somebody more powerful still (but that’s another story). But there’s always a catch with these imprisoning spells, isn’t there and this particular one is no exception. Over the years, every person tortured and killed in the Iron Maiden has weakened the magic as the slain soul is consumed by the bound devil. Now, he’s getting very close to his target; perhaps a handful of souls is all that is required to release him so that he can take his true form once again and wreak havoc on the Prime Material Plane.

None of this, of course, is known to the party. The Iron Maiden has had many owners down the years and now somebody who would like to own it has hired the party to obtain it from its current owner. They do not, of course, have the faintest idea what it really is or what might happen to it very soon.

It is in the hands of (1d6)

1. Mad collector – he’ll have plenty of other objets d’art, knick-knacks and artefacts about which even he knows little. He will be paranoid about other collectors stealing his property and will no doubt have security and traps aplenty. Much of what’s in his collection is going to have curses on or eldritch guardians because that’s the sort of stuff he goes for.

2. Cultist, non-diabolical. He’ll have sinister connections but apart from that, his collection, such as it is, will not be heavily guarded. He’ll have it hidden in a secret room with perhaps a few traps here and there but nothing like no.1. More interesting will be the members of the cult itself. It’s probably a secret but not particularly nasty group, a bit like the Freemasons.

3. Devil worshipping cultists – these chaps will know that the Iron Maiden has something very powerful inside it and will be trying to work out how to set it free. They may view the arrival of the party as a gift from the infernal powers. They will probably contrive some way of using the party as a sacrifice or trapping them inside the Iron Maiden.

4. Torturer, private – he happily tortures people on a pay-by-results basis and his lair has many torture instruments, all of which get used regularly. He take a professional’s pride in his work, being very serious about it, ensuring all his equipment is maintained and familiarising himself with the latest torture methods. If he gets wind of the party’s arrival, he will be looking forward to experimenting on them.

5. Official State Torturer – a civil servant whose job it happens to be. He is no sadist and tries to torture people within the rules, such as they are, but will get upset if he thinks that enemies of the state are trying to sabotage the security system. He will be perturbed if the true nature of the Iron Maiden is revealed to him and will probably insist it be impounded for investigation. The resources of the state will be available for his use if he is threatened or coerced in any way.

6. Harmless antiques nut who happens to have a liking for ancient torture instruments. Probably the easiest of the six options; his collection will resemble no.4 but all the torture instruments will be old, worn or rusty – but labelled and catalogued nevertheless. He may be the target for thieves who think that he has something valuable on the premises. The devil inside the Iron Maiden may well find this fellow, with his somewhat weak mind, easy prey to corrupt and seduce. It may be that this fellow also has connections amongst the antiques fraternity who may take a dim view of anyone trying to rob their friend.

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About Me

Over halfway to 90, I started playing AD&D when the Police were a cool band and Punk was wild. I am a father to a ten-year-old Junior Grognard and have now managed to establish a five-strong gaming group made up of him and four of his friends, ages ranging from 10 to 11. Solidly Old-School.
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